Around the world
NO SHIPS: Philippines President Fidel Ramos said Wednesday he would not allow U.S. military supply ships to be based in the Philippines, joining Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia in rejecting Washington's plans to beef up its presence in the region. Three days before a state visit by U.S. President Bill Clinton, Ramos said Manila would not consider a new basing accord with Washington just two years after the withdrawal of American troops.SURGERY: Gynari Patricia Coronado almost gave her left leg to be crowned Miss Colombia. Coronado was hospitalized Sunday after her leg became infected following liposuction surgery. She hopes to be released in time to compete in this weekend's contest in Cartagena, but doctors have urged caution. The contest is hardly a showcase of natural beauty. Most of the contestants are thought to have received some type of cosmetic surgery.
Across the nation
DENIAL: The new owner of the house where Marilyn Monroe lived and died denied a report Wednesday that he plans to demolish it. "I'm very much a preservationist," said movie director Michael Ritchie, who bought the four-bedroom house in September. "It is an important piece of Hollywood history."
DEADLY CRASH: Five children died Tuesday and another child and the parents of all six were critically injured in the fiery wreck of a van on Interstate 94 south of Milwaukee. Sheriff's investigators said the van apparently hit debris on the highway. The debris punctured the gas tank and the fuel ignited, turning the 1994 Plymouth Voyager into a rolling inferno.
STRIKE: Several security guards were attacked early Tuesday as they sat in a car at a San Francisco Newspaper Agency distribution center, the latest act of violence as the strike against the city's two major daily newspapers entered its seventh day. As the guards attempted to flee, one was stabbed and another severely beaten. Police said the stabbed guard was in stable conditon at a local hospital. During the first 24 hours of the strike, several delivery trucks were vandalized, non-union workers' cars were damaged and a non-union delivery truck driver suffered a fractured skull when he was hit with a lead pipe.